This post is a complement to the previous post here about the physical and emotional response to viewing great original art. We could say art is a collaboration between our phenomenal and emotional world and as such, as sentient beings, one would assume this may have the capacity to connect with us phenomenally and emotionally. In simple terms, it can move us. The last article about scientific evidence of the impact of seeing an original painting reminded me of a track by Idles, shown below which is a tongue-in-cheek defence of being moved by art. Stendhal Syndrome is a description of a reaction to viewing art in which a person faints or becomes delirious. It is named after the writer Stendhal. The man with the beard moving through various art galleries is Adam Devonshire, Idles bassist.

In 1817 Stendhal had a visceral reaction to being in Florence surrounded by exquisite art and architecture.

He commented “I reached the point where one encounters celestial sensations . . . Everything spoke so vividly to my soul. Ah, if I could only forget. I had palpitations of the heart, what in Berlin they call ‘nerves’. Life was drained from me. I walked with the fear of falling.”

The syndrome is not a diagnosable illness but is a phenomenon described by an Italian psychologist in 1979 based on their experience of tourists responding to art, particularly in Florence.

In an article in The British Journal of Psychiatry by Gary Woods here Joe Partridge, songwriter and singer for Idles is quoted as saying that an experience in a Valencian gallery in Spain, rendered him awestruck, tearful and ‘captivated to the point of nausea’.

When I lived in London and visited the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery regularly I recall having a strong emotional and embodied reaction to seeing the actual brush strokes of artists like Monet and Turner. It did make me feel lightheaded like I was going to swoon. It surprised me.

Maybe the difference between the painting and the reproduction is the knowledge that one is witnessing the embodiment of the moment the paint was put on the canvas. In a reproduction, one cannot perceive this. The experience of seeing the reproduction is lesser, in that knowledge accompanies sensation and perception that tells you this is a copy of many copies. The original seems more like a live experience.

Joe and Idles value the live experience and in this video below towards the end, Joe is overwhelmed by the experience of being there. Enjoy this astonishing performance.